Mumbai: A Mumbai-based film producer staged a unique protest by climbing a tree in Shivaji Park area of Dadar this morning. A film producer named Pravinkumar Mohore had threatened to commit suicide by jumping from the tree, alleging that the Animal Welfare Board was harassing him to extract money in the name of issuing NOC. People going to work including morning walkers gathered to watch this high voltage drama early in the morning. Mohore was finally brought down after a lot of persuasion by the police and fire brigade personnel.
In this regard, Praveenkumar Mohore is a Marathi filmmaker and makes small and big films. When Praveenkumar's films show rural culture, scenes like chickens, cows, bullock carts have to be shown. He believed that an NOC from the Animal Welfare Board is needed to show such scenes because the Censor Board also does not allow the film to be released without such an NOC. Mohore believed that every time films need an NOC from the board for such scenes and he has to pay Rs 30,000 every time. Tired of this harassment, Mohore tried to attract the attention of the government and the people by running a movement through official media some time ago, but did not get any success.
This morning Mohore tied a thick iron chain around his body as shown in the way animals are chained and climbed a tree like a monkey in Shivaji Park. People present there informed the police and fire brigade that till his harassment is not stopped he will not come down and if needed he will commit suicide by jumping from the tree and officers of both the agencies reached the spot.
At this time Mohore said that he wanted to meet Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Manas President Raj Thackeray and raise the issue. Finally, after a lot of persuasion, Mohore was brought down. After that Mohore was taken to the police station for further questioning.
In this regard, Praveenkumar Mohore told the journalists that to show animals in films, a No Objection Certificate (NOC) has to be taken from the Animal Welfare Board. 30 thousand rupees are taken from the board for giving this NOC, this is a kind of corruption. This type of corruption discourages small filmmakers from making films and releasing their films. Mohore further said that he has made a film but he is facing a huge obstacle in releasing this film. The main reason for this problem is the excessive terms and conditions of the Censor Board. If a chicken, goat or cow is also shown in the film, then the NOC of the Animal Welfare Board has to be taken, for which 30 thousand rupees are charged from the board, the film is shown only after this scene is passed. Apart from this, if a bullock cart is to be shown in the film, then also 30,000 will have to be paid. In this way, film producers and directors are being blackmailed, so this problem should be resolved soon.